I’d found a game cabinet in the small upstairs library between the top of the stairs and the guest room. A small cupboard held some of the board games my family used to play during storms. I’d left Monopoly alone, because fuck that game. I could run a distillery, but I could barely get around the board to collect my cash once.
I’d bypassed Connect 4, Scrabble, and checkers for the single deck of cards. Now I was playing solitaire on the floor of my room. Yesterday, Jonah had been heading outside, but I’d bitten his head off.Don’t you dare spend another day in a storm avoiding me. I’ll go upstairs.And I’d pounded up the stairs like I’d gotten busted sneaking extra cookies after bedtime.
My outburst had worked. Jonah had stayed inside yesterday.
The wind had died down. I was swimming in his sweater and black sweats, but my original clothing was clean. I just had to change into them. And wash my underwear again. We didn’t accumulate a ton of dirtyclothes between us, but I’d wash all the bedding while I was here to stay in clean underwear.
I found a spot for my five of spades. I’d been playing cards and listening to true crime podcasts for three hours. If the power went out, I was screwed.
My phone rang, and the jolt of excitement it caused was shameful. I was so bored.
Yet did I regret bringing groceries and getting stranded? No. Jonah had needed to know everything.
Wynter’s name lit up my screen. My heart stuttered while I rushed to answer. She never called if she could help it. I usually rang her if she ignored too many texts. “Oh my god, if you’re calling to tell me you’re in labor, I’m going to march through the snow and straight to the hospital.”
Her laughter tinkled through the line. “No baby yet.” Her sigh was full of disappointment. “I really wanted to spare this child a winter birthday.”
“You’re not due for two more weeks. You could go long enough until it’s technically spring.”
“Too long,” she groaned. “I’m uncomfortable and bored and I need to talk to a calm voice. Myles is uptight and climbing the walls.”
“Anxious he’s going to be delivering his firstborn?”
“Yes. I love him, but he doesn’t need to be seeing my insides.” She dropped her voice. “Do you know how many moms poop when giving birth?”
I giggled. “It’s natural.”
“Ugh. Scarlett’s talked me down once this week.”
Tate’s wife was the only one of us to have had kids. We weren’t close to Tate’s first wife, so my nephew Chance’s birth announcement had been little more than a text with a photo. Scarlett had ordered Tate to blow upour phones with pictures and updates of Brinley and Darin.
“Help me take my mind off giving birth in a blizzard,” Wynter said.
“One, you are not a cow. You don’t need to calve during a storm.”
She laughed. “It’s the rancher’s kid in me, that’s why I’m due in the spring.”
“Not my fault you followed the insemination schedule,” I said primly, smiling. I cleaned up my cards. I’d lost the game. “Did you talk to Autumn?”
“Yes, but you know she wouldn’t spill anything you told her.”
I rolled my eyes. “But she told you there was something.”
“I have my ways. Does Jonah really hate you?”
“Maybe.” I couldn’t give her a resounding no, and that broke my heart. “He can’t help but take care of me, but he doesn’t like me, that’s for sure.”
“It’s not for sure. Emotions are complicated, and you’re still recovering from the breakup.”
It took me a moment to realize she wasn’t talking about Eli. Cool humiliation washed through me. I’d been about to marry Boyd mere weeks ago and now thinking about him was a nuisance.
“Well, I guess your silence says a lot about how hung up on Boyd you are.” She snorted. “Boyd who? That’s the way it should be.”
“I wish it were that easy. I broke up with Eli because I had a thing for Jonah and he knew it, and now Jonah knows it too.”
“Shit.” Shuffling came from the other end, like shewas getting comfortable for a long talk. “It’s not your fau?—”
“Everyone can say that but it doesn’t make it true.” If it were true, then I would’ve gotten over it and Jonah would be talking to me. “It doesn’t make Jonah dislike me less.”
